Newark Teachers and N.J. Gov. Christie Agree on New Bonus System

A historic three-year deal was struck between New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Newark teachers on Wednesday. The Newark Teachers Union is the first in the Garden State to include merit bonus pay based on classroom performance in its contract. Gov. Christie and AFT President Randi Weingarten met on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" today to talk about the bonus pay agreement. Watch the video below.

Weingarten says:

This is a dynamic, new contract that's fair to the teachers, but most importantly, that's good for kids. That's why when people looked at this, they voted it up by more than 60%....In all this, Sandy happened and the governor did an extraordinary job in terms of all the work in New Jersey, and this is the way government should work whether it's at the collective bargaining table or whether there is a public disaster. You have lots of public employees who, every single day, are trying to make a difference in the lives of kids of the community. We worked hard at the table to come up with something that is good for Newark.

The three-year deal, which awards merit pay to teachers who earn a rating of “highly effective,” was approved, 1,767-1,088, with almost 62 percent of those who voted supporting it. More than 2,800 of the nearly 4,700 union members turned out at union headquarters on Broad Street in Newark throughout the day to cast ballots.